The Board denied a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss and remanded several issues related to interstitial lung disease, psychiatric disability, fatigue, vertigo, muscle disability, Raynaud's phenomenon, gastrointestinal disability, difficulty swallowing, headache, skin disability, blurred vision, upper respiratory symptoms, and vertigo as secondary conditions.
The deciding factor: The March 2024 VA examination did not address all required criteria under Diagnostic Code 6831 for the ILD disability, necessitating a remand to ensure compliance with rating criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- right ear hearing loss, interstitial lung disease (ILD), anti-synthetase syndrome, acquired psychiatric disability, to include depression, anxiety, difficulty with memory, brain fog, and decreased cognition, fatigue (also described as decreased energy), vertigo (also described as light headedness), muscle disability, to include myositis, muscle spasms, muscle pain, and chest pain, Raynaud's phenomenon of the bilateral hands and feet, gastrointestinal disability, to include gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (also described as acid reflux and heartburn), nausea, and vomiting, difficulty swallowing, headache disability, skin disability, to include rashes and itchy skin, blurred vision, upper respiratory symptoms, to include dry and sore throat, dry cough, runny nose, and post-nasal drip
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 15, 2025
- Citation
- A25043652
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,990 · Granted: 35% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25043652.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims regarding entitlement to service connection for a headache disability and entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to May 29, 2014, and in excess of 20 percent thereafter for right tibiofibular ligament strain are being remanded due to the need for additional development.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for onychomycosis was denied as the condition did not require treatment and covered less than 5% of his body. The Board also remanded issues regarding service connection for left ear hearing loss and entitlement to a compensable disability rating for right ear hearing loss.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of right ear hearing loss, and the case is dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
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